Passwords remain a stumbling block in computer security, requiring the use of a password that is difficult to crack and easy to remember. This process pushes many to use vague ideas based on tastes and preferences, but cybercrime and its ability to gain access to accounts through “social engineering” has resulted in hundreds of thousands of accounts linked to “Taylor Swift” or “Bad rabbit” in 2022 vulnerable.
A recent report from SpyCloud reveals a large number of passwords exposed in various leaks that show how users are banking on elements of popular culture to “harden” their security. In particular, the report highlights the recovery 327 thousand passwords related to Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny.
According to the research company, you should “Given that many people are obsessed with music and celebrities, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing the hottest artists on the 2022 list, and those who have dominated this collection are Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny.”
Please note that this does not only apply to accounts that use the words “Taylor”, “Swift”, “Bad” or “Bunny” as passwords, but also variables identified in the stream of information leaks. Among the most frequent are also “swiftie” or “midnights” – the title of his latest album, which earned over $230 million last year; while Benito inspired key words such as “summer” or “titi”. While the popular American singer has inspired 186,000 accounts and the Latin American artist has influenced 141,000 accounts.
Other popular culture events found in the SpyCloud report were streaming services – “YouTube”, “Netflix” or “Hulu” as keywords in 261,000 accounts, the death of Queen Elizabeth II – 167,000 accounts with the words “queen”, “Royal family” or “Queen Elizabeth” – Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter – up to 74 thousand under “Twitter” or “Elon mask” – Ukraine, Donald Trump and other events that marked 2022.
This data was obtained among 721 million credentials exposed in more than 1,300 hacks over the past year. An interesting point about this case is that 72% of the users who were affected by these leaks used passwords that were previously exposed in other hacks.
According to the report, a large proportion of those affected have had multi-factor authentication or MFA disabled, which adds a dynamic PIN or second step of verification via SMS, email, third-party app, or notification to the devices associated with the account. .
“The widespread use of information thieves is a dangerous trend as these attacks open the door for attackers such as initial access agents who sell malware logs containing accurate authentication data to ransomware syndicates and other criminals.” Trevor Hilligoss, director of security research at SpyCloud, told reporters about this. “Information thieves are easy to reach, cheap and scalable, creating a thriving shadow economy with an all-as-a-service model that allows for cybercrime. This broker-dealer partnership is a profitable business with a relatively low cost of entry.”
Source: RPP
I am Ben Stock, a passionate and experienced digital journalist working in the news industry. At the Buna Times, I write articles covering technology developments and related topics. I strive to provide reliable information that my readers can trust. My research skills are top-notch, as well as my ability to craft engaging stories on timely topics with clarity and accuracy.